The present Invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Dahlia plant, botanically known as Dahlia hybrida and hereinafter referred to by the name ‘Gallery Rivera’.
The new Dahlia is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventor in Lisse, The Netherlands. The objective of the breeding program is to create new potted Dahlia cultivars with compact plant habit, freely branching growth habit, early and freely flowering habit, decorative inflorescence form, attractive ray floret coloration, and good postproduction longevity and garden performance.
The new Dahlia originated from a cross-pollination made by the Inventor during 1999 of the Dahlia cultivar Melody Bolero, disclosed in U.S. Plant Pat. No. 12,884, as the female, or seed, parent with an unknown selection of Dahlia as the male, or pollen, parent. The new Dahlia was discovered and selected by the Inventor as a single flowering plant within the progeny of the stated cross-pollination grown in a controlled environment in Lisse, The Netherlands, during 1999. The selection of this plant was based on its unique ray floret coloration.
Asexual reproduction of the new Dahlia by cuttings was first conducted in Lisse, The Netherlands during the spring of 2000. Asexual reproduction by cuttings has shown that the unique features of this new Dahlia are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.